


flower tattoo

by mssjynx



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-23 06:46:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18148490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssjynx/pseuds/mssjynx
Summary: the nervous florist from across the street doesnt know exactly to start talking to the cute tattoo artist. he'll find a way





	flower tattoo

The moment the door pushed open, clanging the doorbell, and the newcomer stepped in, his anxiety seeped into the room, almost palpable in its strength. Evan looked up from the desk, slipping the last page of designs into the plastic slip folder before sliding it onto the counter with the other three display files. 

“Hey, come on in and have a look around.” 

Blue eyes snapped to his face; familiar blue eyes. Wearing a white shirt with pretty watercolor flowers dancing across his chest, the florist from directly across the street took another hesitant step into the tattoo parlor. 

Evan had first met the guy, a floral name-tag clipped onto his chest that read Jonathan, when buying a bouquet of flowers for his sister’s wedding a few months prior. The florist was comfortable and easy-going with the conversation until he’d thoughtlessly asked if the flowers had been for a girlfriend. When Evan had informed him that he was actually gay, and single, the wall of social confidence Jonathan had held had shattered before his eyes and he had struggled through the last of their exchange with stuttered words and flushed red cheeks. 

The second time they had met was running into each other at the cafe beside Jon’s florist. Standing in line, Evan had accidentally backed into the lanky man and greeted him after his apology with a fine smile and kind eyes. Jon had stammered over his reply, standing awkwardly beside Evan as the woman before them um’d and ah’d about her drink choice. When Jon had finally blurted out, “How- how much do tattoos hurt!?” Evan couldn’t stop his smile from breaking out, twisting his arms to look over his tattoos. 

Without thinking twice about it, he pulled up the hem of his shirt to expose the cat inked into his skin, laying on her back along the arch of his hip with her paws in the air and blue eyes full of curiosity. He glanced down at it with a smile. “This one hurt the most because it’s on the bone of my hip. But the one’s done on muscle just feel like… well, cat scratches.” The links between his phrase and his tattoo made a laugh twitch at his grin. His shirt fell back over the inked art piece and when he lifted his gaze back to Jon, he took in the expression of flustered embarrassment the florist wore, eyes still glued to where his shirt now covered his tattoo. 

Wide blue eyes flicked up to Evan’s, jumping back to his chest, to his hips, to his face and hair, before snapping to the floor where they seemed the safest. His mouth opened and closed, having completely lost his ability to form words after being flashed half of Evan’s toned abdomen. 

Before he could embarrass himself further, the cashier called him forward and he quickly turned away from the tattoo artist to force out his order and hurry away to a secluded table. 

This was the first time Jonathan had entered his parlor and Evan had to stop himself from grinning weirdly at the man. “Jon! Hey, how’re you?” he greeted, standing behind the desk and leaning forward on the counter to watch the man shuffle forwards, glancing around at the painted walls covered in all sorts of styles and designs. 

“Good- I’m good, I was- How are you?” he asked, blinking through the difficult sentence as Evan pushed one of the design files towards him. The florist took it, opening it and flicking his gaze of the designs inside. 

Evan watched shamelessly as those eyes danced over page after page of a file Evan had had a feeling he would enjoy. Opening his mouth, he glanced down at the computer in front of him as he started to respond.

Jonathan didn’t allow him the time, blurting out a fast, panicked: “I want you to gimme a tattoo!”

He met those deep blue eyes in slight surprise, having noticed that all the bare skin he’d seen of Jon was fair and unblemished. With the man’s clear discomfort in standing in the punky styled store, it would have shocked Evan to find out this wasn’t his first time stepping into one. 

Still, he didn’t want to say anything to scare Jon away. “Okay, do you know what you want and where you want it?” he asked, resting his chin on his hands. “And when do you want me to do it?” 

He pulled out his diary, flicking open to the right date and plucking a pen from the mug on the counter. Jon stepped up to the counter placing the file down and flicking back to the second page. “I want- I want this one. This rose on my chest over my… over my heart!” He planted his fingertip on the simple, pretty rose outline. There were little details like the sharpened thorns and the little dot-pattern shading used on the petals- but otherwise, the tattoo was as beginner as you could get. 

A perfect first tattoo for the florist.

Evan grinned, taking the file and slipping the page out. He turned and pushed it into his printer, scanning it and returning his attention to his new customer when he was confident the machine would print out a copy of the page. 

“When would you like it done? You can pay half today and-” 

“I want you to do it today.” He cut Evan off, pink flush dusting his cheeks as he gripped his hands in fists. “I- If I don’t do it now I’ll- I’ll get too scared and I won’t ever do it but I  _ know  _ I want it. I want you…- to- to do it! The tattoo!” His eyes snapped wide open as he realised his fumbled words may have insinuated more than he had meant to. 

Evan had to hold back his smile, finding the florist’s embarrassment adorable. 

He closed the diary, tapping the computers keys before turning to retrieve to page of tattoos. He made quick work cutting out the rose, and passing it to the blushing man. “Good thing I don’t have an appointment for another two hours,” he declared, smiling warmly and noticing the twitch of Jon’s lips as he tried to mirror the gesture. “Is this the size you want it to be?” he asked, giving the man a few moments to press the piece of thin paper to his shirt. There was no avoiding the word “cute” that perched on the tip of his tongue as Jon furrowed his brows and assessed the side and placement of the tattoo. 

After a few minutes of deciding, and getting Evan to print it a slight bit larger, he wore a face of determined bravery when Evan lead him through the curtain into the backroom. 

“Take your shirt off and take a seat,” he instructed, walking around the side of the chair and taking a seat in the swivel chair. He focused on the tools on his desk, getting the tattoo pen ready and everything else prepared for Jonathan’s tattoo. Without too much thought, he flicked his phone onto his music. “Who’s your favourite artist?” he asked, flicking through to where he could search for songs. 

“Um,” Jon murmured, the rustle of his shirt splitting his train of thought. “I like- I like Fall Out Boy and- and Good Charlotte I guess-” he pushed, his words slurred in his distraction as he hopped up onto the bed. 

Finding those artists, Evan set them into shuffle and placed his phone down. “Is this your first tattoo?” he asked, spinning to face the chair with his disinfectant wipes. He tried not to pay attention to the man’s figure, or the freckles that scattered his collarbones and shoulders, or the way he pulling his bottom lip between his teeth while nodding. 

The florist flinched at the first swipe of the cleansing pad. 

“And you want it right over your heart?” he clarified, snatching the temporary print paper up from the counter and standing to the side of the florist. 

“Right over- on- on my heartbeat,” he mumbled, cheeks slightly pale in his fear. 

Evan hummed in understanding, nodding lightly. He lifted his hand to hover over Jon’s chest. “May I…?” he trailed off. Jon swallowed, dipping his head in a rushed “go ahead” before letting his eyes fall shut. 

Evan pressed his hand to the man’s warm chest, keeping his eyes where they should remain as a professional. Adjusting his hand’s placement, he focused on finding where he could feel the man’s heartbeat strongest. When he caught the unsteady rhythm, counting along with it in his head, he swallowed down his sympathetic smile upon noticing the speed. It was clear Jon was more than nervous about getting a tattoo. 

He didn’t mention it, continuing his adventure before settling his finger over the strong, impatient pulse. The paper replaced his skin, a damp cloth pressing the temporary picture into the muscle of his chest just inwards of his nipple. 

A few seconds passed, the paper peeled away to reveal the preview of the tattoo, shimmering on the florist’s fair skin. He sat back in his seat. “Go look over in the mirror there and see if you like where that’s sitting,” he instructed, catching Jon’s frightened eyes as they fluttered open. 

The nervous man clumsily shuffled off the chair, stopping in front of the mirror unaware of Evan’s calm, admiring watch that followed him across the room. He watched with a little smile as Jon leaned in close, fingers tentative when drifting over the pattern on his skin, examining the placement and style. He pondered it for a few minutes, nose scrunched up and brows furrowed in thought. 

Evan pulled his attention away, scolding himself. 

“It’s- It’s perfect!” the other exclaimed, yanking Evan’s attention back. Blue eyes were a mix of nerves and excitement as he rested a palm over his preview tattoo. “I want it- It has to be like this- exactly like this one!” he turned back to the mirror, nose brushing the glass surface with how close he got in his excitement. Evan didn’t even grumble as the florist pressed his hands to the hands of his reflection, not caring that he’d have to clean it later on. 

He hadn’t seen Jon smile so widely until then. 

The sparkle in his eyes was nothing less than childish glee and anticipation as he nodded to himself before rushing back to his chair and hopping back onto the cushioning. 

It was almost impossible for Evan to take his eyes off that smile. 

“Are you completely sure? You remember this is permanent, right?” he pushed, not wanting the man before him to regret anything about the pretty design. But the fervent shake of his head had Evan confident enough to get started. “It’ll only take a few minutes, just relax for now and I’ll get it done as quick as I can for you,” he explained, turning back to his tattoo pen and getting it set up with the ink needed. 

When he turned back to Jon, pen in hand, he could see the anxiety was resurfacing in pale cheeks and gripped fists. Wheeling closer to him, he rested a hand on his wrist and drew Jon’s attention to him. 

“It’s not going to be that bad, okay? It’ll be over before you know it. I promise.” He kept his warm gaze on Jon’s while he spoke, making sure the florist heard and understood his every word. When he nodded (albeit shakily), Evan smiled warmly and pressed his two fingers flat over the rose print to feel the racing heart underneath. “You ready?”

“I- Yeah, yes. Yes. I’ll- I’m fine, I’m ready.” His response was forced between bared teeth and Evan could feel the fear in the air as he adjusted his gloved grip on the pen. But he’d been given the go ahead and he was sure Jon just wanted it done and over with. 

As he drew closer, getting into position to start inking, he rested his spare hand to the other side of Jon’s sternum, not needing to tighten the skin over the layer of muscle already keeping the skin in place on Jonathan’s chest. 

“Evan, Wait-!” He paused the pen above Jon’s chest, lifting his eyes to the fear glowing in the blues looking back at him. Red painted the skin between his freckles. “Can you- Could- Will you hold my- hold my hand?” The words dropped from his mouth in a tangled mess as Jon flexed and fisted his fingers beside his hips. 

It was obvious he was in more distress than most patients. 

But Evan didn’t hold back his kind smile. It was the first time he’d heard Jonathan say his name, let alone say it with so much trust and dependance. Jon was obviously anxious, even more so about being vulnerable and possibly rejected over his nerves for the tattoo. “Of course.” He sat back, sliding his fingers down the inside of Jon’s forearm to his hand. The florist impatiently clutched at his hand, threading their fingers together and gripping tightly. 

The tattoo artist held back his amused laugh, lifting their joined hands to rest back on the left side of the man’s chest. A moment hung between them where Evan welcomed Jon to jump up and chicken out or ask for something else. But the blue eyes were squeezed tightly shut and pink lips were almost white with how tightly the florist had them pursed. 

“Okay, Jon. Here we go.” He gave the other another second of preparation before he leaned down close, squeezing his hand as he clicked the pen on and lowered it to the outline waiting for him. 

The tattooing only took about five minutes in total with Evan’s pickiness and determination. He didn’t want a single spot of ink to be out of place for Jon, focused on making sure it was worth the stress and the pain. Jon didn’t say a word the whole time, squeezing Evan’s hand like a lifeline and keeping his eyes tightly shut. Evan paused at one moment to check that Jon was still breathing, giving the florist’s hand a gentle squeeze every few moments to reassure him he was doing fine. 

When he finally sat back upright, stretching his back and examining the tattoo. Letting his and Jon’s hands fall off his chest to hang between their chairs, he met the fearful blue eyes with an almost proud grin. “All done!” he chirped, placing the pen down and holding loosely onto Jon’s fingers. 

He didn’t want to let go just yet. 

Jon sat up, blinding down at his chest in awe and disbelief, as though not even sure he’d just had a real tattoo done. It took about three seconds for shock to roll into unrestrained exhilaration. 

The florist bolted up onto his feet, still gripping Evan’s hand and therefore pulling the artist to his own feet too. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed, gawking down at his chest. Without a thought for anything else, he pulled hard on Evan’s hand and stumbled across the room. The tattoo artist barely swerved the customer’s chair before he was yanked over to the mirror.

He caught his own grin in the mirror, standing beside the ecstatic Jonathan who pointed to the design on his chest, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. “I did it!” He turned to Evan as if to double check it was all real. 

“You did,” Evan confirmed, grin twisting his words with a laugh as Jon dropped his fingers, both of his hands flying to his chest to take a closer look at the flower. 

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, stretching the skin and watching the ink shimmer. “It’s perfect.” Evan barely saw him step back before he was throwing his arms around the tattoo artist’s shoulders and pressed his grin into his shoulder. “It’s so perfect, Evan! Thank you! Thank- Thank you so much!” 

The pleased chuckle fell to Jonathan’s bare shoulder as Evan wound his arms around the man’s bare waist to return the embrace. “I’m happy you like it,” he confessed, enjoying the warmth of the hug from the man who was surprisingly slightly taller than him. 

“Like it!?” Jon spluttered, pushing Evan back and holding him by the shoulders. “I love it! I love it so much!! It’s beautiful- You- You’re beautiful-!”

His joy was overwhelmed with a look of shock in half a moment, before that same deep red flushed his face and he yanked his hands away from Evan as though burnt. 

“I mean- I said- You were- Y- You-” His mouth simply refused to make it easy for him as he fumbled with his tongue and lips. “You  _ did _ beautiful- beautifully? I mean- You’re not- not not beautiful, I think- I think you’re really pretty but I didn’t mean to- I was trying to- You just make me-” He snapped his mouth shut, hands coming up to hide his embarrassed blush. 

Evan bit back his smile. He always thought Jon was pretty, but he hadn’t thought the florist could possibly be quite so cute. “Come back over here and I’ll give you the aftercare pack.” A swift change of subject. He didn’t miss Jon’s relieved sigh, and didn’t wait for the florist’s likely flustered reaction when he slipped his hand into Jon’s again. 

He led him back to the seat, pushing him down before sitting in his own chair and pulling open one of the counter drawers. Pulling out a little zip-lock bag with papers about aftercare, time periods and touch-ups. Reciting the usual after-tattoo speech he did with his customers, he placed the bag in Jon’s hands and answered any curious questions with ease. 

When it came time to lead the man back to the front room, he was reluctant, not so much wanting to watch the florist leave the parlor. 

He took his time bandaging and glad-wrapping the inked design, enjoying the proximity with Jon more than he did any other customers. 

All good things must come to an end however, so the artist sadly led the man out to the main room where he was to organise the payment and say goodbye. “Make sure you take care of it,” he enforced. “And if you have any questions at all you can come in here or-” The perfect set up. He plucked a pen from his desk and held out his hand for Jon’s arm. Scribbling his phone number onto the freckled wrist, he flashed a shy smile to the florist. “Call me,” he offered. “About the tattoo, about anything… If you wanna maybe go get lunch one day or- or something, we can- we could do that too.” 

And then he was the one blushing, dropping his eyes as his wording fell awkwardly from his tongue. Embarrassed, he didn’t look back up until Jon twisted his arm around, sliding his fingers down Evan’s wrist until he could link their hands together again. The action was comfortable and reassuring. The light squeeze around his knuckles had Evan looking back up to equally pink cheeks, blue eyes shy but full of determination. 

“I- I’d like that.” Jon pushed, keeping his words steady with one hundred percent of his focus. And even if Evan felt sad letting his hand go and watching him leave the store, he could feel butterflies dancing around his racing heart with excitement for a possible date with the pretty florist from across the street. 

The rest of the day went by with that warm fuzzy feeling and a smile on his lips and when he turned up the next day for work and found a little vase of roses inside the door with his name on it and a heart, he couldn’t pull the smile off his face even if he tried. 

 


End file.
